Summary:A quirky take on the father-daughter relationship in which a cab driver gets caught between a dysfunctional father and daughter as he drives them from Delhi to Calcutta.

Piku is a 2015 Hindi feature film directed by Shoojit Sircar whose
previous assignments include highly successful films like Vicky Donor (2012) and
Madras Cafe(2013). Written by Juhi Chaturvedi, Piku stars Amitabh Bachchan, Deepika
Padukone, Irrfan Khan, and Moushumi Chatterjee in the major roles. The movie
revolves around a Delhi-based father-daughter duo hailing from an upper class
Bengali family. Bhaskor Banerjee, a 70-year-old widower, is an aging
hypochondriac whose only real trouble is his chronic constipation. Piku
Banerjee, a 30-year-old successful architect, hasn’t yet managed to find herself
a worthy suitor, partly because of being fully devoted to the cause of looking
after her pesky father (who selfishly wants her to stay single and serve him), and partly
because of her own short-tempered nature and promiscuous sexual tendencies.

Amitabh Bachchan as Bhaskor Banerjee in Piku

When Piku decides to sell off their ancestral house in Kolkata,
Bhaskor, who is adamant on keeping the property, cajoles her into
taking a 1500 Km road trip from Delhi to Kolkata, citing his health issues for
not wanting to travel by air or rail. When the regular driver doesn’t show up
on time, Rana Chaudhary, the owner of the taxi service company contracted by
Piku’s organization, fills his place. Rana, who lives with his grumpy mother
and annoying sister, is a civil engineer by profession. After he gets fired by
a company in Saudi Arabia, he returns to India and takes over reins of his dead
father’s taxi business. Unbeknownst to Piku, Rana secretly admires her
eccentricity, willfulness, and social independence. The road trip allows Rana
to see Piku up close. It also allows Piku to let go of her prickly façade and
understand herself better. As for Bhaskor, it’s a rare opportunity to break free of his monotonous life and reunite with his family in Kolkata.

Deepika Padukone in Shoojit Sircar's Piku

Part family drama, part road movie, Piku is a unique cocktail of
human emotions that tugs at our heartstrings, making us laugh and cry at the
same time. Piku delivers a serious message about life in an altogether non-serious
manner. It teaches us about the meaningfulness of life while depicting how most
of us fail to savor its true pleasures while we still can. How instead of embracing
the life’s unbridled happiness, we waste our time seeking materialistic
pursuits, constantly cribbing over trivial matters. How we allow loneliness and
solitude to slowly creep into our lives while remaining completely ignorant of
the eternal joys of the universe. How we fail to find solace in the company of
our loved ones and let our ego and not love dictate the decisions we make.
How the generation gap between the young and the old keeps widening with passing
time. How death takes away everything save the memories which stay with us forever.

Irrfan Khan as Rana Chaudhary in Piku

The strongest point of Piku (apart from direction and screenplay) is the performances of Amitabh Bachchan, Irrfan Khan and Deepika Padukone. While one expects nothing but the best from stalwarts likes Mr. Bachchan (a great follow up to his remarkable turn in R. Balki's Shamitabh) and Irrfan (he seldom disappoints… and Piku is no exception), it is Padukone’s performance that’s the biggest surprise of the movie. First Finding Fanny(2014) and now Piku, without make-up looks seem to suit Padukone really well. We all have seen her in numerous glamorous avatars in big banner Hindi films but here we get to witness a very different side to her. Padukone's character epitomizes the 21st century Indian woman for whom self-respect and social independence are as important as the love for her family (perhaps, those who have seen Vogue India’s “My Choice” video dedicated to women empowerment can relate to it better). It’s indeed quite heartening to see a modern Indian actress like Padukone try her hands at something new and challenging. Yesteryear actress Moushumi Chatterjee’s cameo in Piku is another high point of the film and few the scenes that she share with Mr. Bachchan are quite memorable (who can forget their sizzling romantic number "Rimjhim Gire Sawan" from the 1979 movie Manzil?).

A Still from Shoojit Sircar's Piku

Overall, Piku makes for a great family viewing and can be enjoyed
by anyone and everyone. The credit goes to Sircar and team for
concocting up a simple but meaningful film about life. As alluring as the road trip from Delhi to Kolkata itself are the resplendent shots of the Ganges at the holy city of Varansi, captured during the early morning as well as in the night. Some of the scenes towards the end of the film brilliantly capture the bewitching beauty of the enigmatic city of Kolkata. It’s quite heartening to
see Sircar pay tributes to the great Bengali filmmaker Satyajit Rayon a couple of occasionsin the film (first, in the opening scene itself, we get to see a portrait of his hung on the wall... second, one of the characters makes a reference to the master India filmmaker's body of work... perhaps, the name Piku is also based on a character in Ray's exceptional short film, Pikoo's Diary) Piku’s innocent toilet humor may be at the receiving end of some flak from certain sections of audiences but most viewers will certainly appreciate the spirit in which it’s done. Piku will certainly prove to be a great experience for those looking for a nice
family outing. But, if your sole aim is escapist entertainment then
Piku would certainly leave you cold. Recommended!Readers, please feel free to share your views/opinions in the comment box below. As always your feedback is highly appreciated!

The thing with Deepika is that we all are used to seeing her in those glamorous roles and so this would come as a big surprise to all of us. Since I was lucky enough to watch her in Finding Fanny, I could relate to her part in Piku better.

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About Editor-In-Chief

Murtaza Ali Khan is an independent film critic, journalist, columnist, and blogger based out of New Delhi, India. He is the Founder/Editor-in-Chief of the award-winning entertainment blog A Potpourri of Vestiges. He is the Co-Founder of Ed Wood Productions. He has been writing movie reviews at IMDb for over seven years. He is a Columnist at The Huffington Post. He is a Guest Columnist at Cafe Dissensus (New York) and has contributed to publications like The Hindu and The Quint. Previously, he has also contributed to sites like Desimartini and Jamurra Blog. He is also on the guest panel for live discussions on the television channel News X.